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Our beautiful and historic village and environs are host to lots of dogs. (Stats say at least 25% of homes in rural communities field a dog). As a dog fan, we usually say hello and let them have a sniff (you know, to check credentials). However, dogs need looked after in terms of social responsibility, do they not? Increasingly our local highways, byways and verges are piling up with 'dog litter' (to be polite about it). Dog nappies aside, there are easy, commonsense ways to contain (sic) the damage. For example: Choose your walkies moment with care (dogs often evacuate around meal times, as we know, to make room for incoming). Certainly you will be familiar with your own dog's habits in this regard. Having scheduled, as well as busy lives allow; then, if a number two does occur when out and about (highly probable) - simply bag it. Be sure to take your bag home, though! Finally, do bear in mind that there's no such thing as the Dog Poo Fairy, sadly.
Barking mad or great idea?
Town Mails Dog Poop Back To Negligent Owners In Spain
Spanish town fights back against dog poo by parcelling it up and POSTING it back to the owner
MAIDEN BRADLEY PARISH NEWS SUBMISSION
lesmayne@hotmail.co.uk, editor@maidenbradley.net, news@maidenbradley.net
Item was published in July issue - minus pic,)
Dear all
More info regarding our primary local issue regarding responsible dog walking. . .
This will form part of a series, to include (but not limited to); safety for owners, farm animals and wildlife, when using permissible routes.
Kind regards
John Potts
Maiden Bradley Village website
(Parish Council link)
*
also→ see
GRIPE
Imagine if people could simply squat down and do their business anywhere they feel like it and run off - just like dogs do whose owners don't bag it for safe disposal
- Rex, Wiltshire
TIP
If dog is fed correct amount of good quality food then it will produce a small firm poop. The piles of squish are the result of overfeeding with cheap bulked up food.
- Daisy, East of England
N O T E (by a dog poo freedom fighter)
It seems this dog poo issue is a subject swept under the carpet for the Dog Poo Fairy to sort
out in Never-never Land? We've talked the walk; now, let's walk the dog (responsibly)! — anon
Dog Litter 2
MAIDEN BRADLEY PARISH NEWS SUBMISSION
ALSO CIRCULATED TO SOUTH WILTS AREA OUR COMMUNITY MATTERS (ALL REGIONS)
According to the Flush Doggy Poop Calculator, a 40-pound dog will generate over 250 pounds of waste in one year. If 25% of rural households field a dog (conservative estimate) and 20% of dog owners (come on, be honest) don't scoop their dog's poo...well, let's try the math:
Say we have about 130 dwellings in and around the village (current population about 325 of us), then that's maybe 30 dogs (probably more) - minus 5% whose owners scoop (well done) = (rounding generously down) 25 dogs. Now, according to stats we have a potential accumulated total of annual dog poo at an average dog's weight of perhaps 40lbs = 250lbs/year x 25 local unscooped dogs = 6,250lbs (= 2,835kgs = over 2.3 tons!) of dog poo poisoning the local soil annually. Can you dig this info, everyone?*
Even if we reduce that figure a little to accommodate gap days such as inclement weather / holidays, statistical deviation, and so on. Whatever, it still indicates a clearly unacceptable (but easily avoidable - bag it!) pollution problem.
Moreover, even when it's not there, it is. With (slow) rainwater dispersal and subsequent drainage into the local soil and streams, unscooped dog poo is a serious health hazard and yet another heavy burden to add to our already stressed local/national environment. And we're just one small village. Scale the whole issue up (if you have the nerve to contemplate that).
For more info on this and other crucial village topics, you're very welcome to have a sniff around my Maiden Bradley site, here. . . http://tinyurl.com/MaidenBradley
*To be more specific regarding local dog poo black spots. This noxious stuff gets particularly concentrated along the popular (ie: discretely convenient) walkies routes. Especially the verges (and sometimes fields!) along Back Lane, Millennium Walk (short version - fields / wood), and Mapperton (from the playing field path entrance up to the second or third field gate, typically). Out of sight, out of mind?.
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PS: On a brighter note, I've updated/added to Wikipedia's 'External Links' (long overdue) for the Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield entry. Very useful they are too. Especially bookmark our online village shop and post office info site and never be in the dark about opening/closing times again!
—
HOW DOG LITTER 2 APPEARED IN AUGUST 2013 ISSUE OF MAIDEN BRADLEY PARISH NEWS
(quite amusing--but misleading--quip with dog show pics - it's dog owners who are accountable)
back cover insert
Also see - Warminster Our Community Item
And - Warmiinster People article
Plus - Frome People here
Dog Litter Supplement
CIRCULATED TO SOUTH WILTS AREA OUR COMMUNITY MATTERS (ALL REGIONS)
According to Keep Britain Tidy the UK dog population in 2010 was estimated to be eight million, with dogs producing approximately 1,000 tonnes (984.21 UK tons) of excrement each and every day with the highest level of dog fouling found in areas where people actually live.
In this final dog poo item [3/3] we briefly point out: (1) Diseases (associated with dog excrement), (2) Disposal (best practice), (3) Environmental Protection Act 1990. . .
(1) Diseases (link) Dog faeces are one of the most common carriers of at least the following infestations/diseases: Heartworms Hookworms Roundworms Tapeworms Whipworms(Do have your dog wormed regularly.) Campylobacteriosis Cryptosporidiosis Corona E. Coli Giardiasis Parvo Salmonellosis Worms are worth a special mention (if not a special award for hard-bitten tenacity). The pesky little critters are virtually indestructible once they get into soil via casual dog litter dispersal habits. Believe it or not, vast legions of these tiny beings can lurk around in the substrate along walkies routes for up to a decade, waiting for their chance to spring unexpectedly into action on any potential host.As 'dog litter' is being topped up daily, it of necessity follows that its pestilence and disease cargo increases daily too (sort of exponentially). This accumulation in the soil is not helped by a common assumption that dog poo is the same as, for example, cow poo. "Oh, it's all just good ol' manure - innit? You know, part of the natural order of all things bright and beautiful." Would that this were so - but, it aint. Dog litter is distinguished from soil nutritious cow pies by being nothing less than highly toxic waste.
God bless our living soil's healthy ecology and all the susceptible wild/domestic creatures, including us humans, when dog mess is randomly strewn underfoot. Especially at risk are young children, who (naturally enough) are nearer to the ground and thus to any pollution down there where they run and play.
(2) Disposal
"Bag it, bin it". Yes, that's much better than doing nothing, of course (and more rational than festooning strange fruit in trees, or chucking bags of canine faecal matter into the long grass). So, we promote bag/bin as the very least that responsible dog owners can do. However, the ideal solution for dog poo disposal is to NOT bin it.
Instead, take it home (in a bag) and simply FLUSH the poo down the loo (whilst retaining the bag for separate disposal (ideally, by incineration, or use water-soluble bags).
The sewage works deals with dog waste as efficiently as our usual effluent. And, in either case (bag-bin / bag-flush), ALWAYS wash hands after disposal (even if they're thought to be clean, they're probably microscopically contaminated).
A word about rubbish tips and plastic. Binned dog poo carted off to landfill sites actually creates as many problems (maybe more) than it solves. And this by centralising massive reserves of the stuff where it can (intensively) leak back into the environment. Also, we have a global plastic bag pandemic of oceanic proportions to consider. Plastic bags wreak indiscriminate bio-havoc and take 1000 years to completely break down. However, there are flushable dog poo bags (which, it is claimed, harmlessly dissolve in water). These are cost-efficient and available on the internet.
So, very best dog litter disposal practice? Flush your dog's toxic waste down a toilet, burn the collection bag (or, test water-soluble flush bags), and then (thoroughly) wash hands afterwards. Sorted.
(3) Environmental Protection Act 1990 (link)
"Dog owners must, by law, pick up any mess made by their pets in public places such as roads, footpaths, school playing fields, sports fields, parks. Wiltshire Council enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices [up to £1000] and refer offenders for prosecution. If people spot someone not clearing up after their dog they can report incidents by ringing 0300 456 0100 or via the Wiltshire Council website at http://is.gd/dogfouling."
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For more detailed info on this and other crucial village topics (ie: inside All Saints Bell Tower - a unique in depth photo-essay!), you're all very welcome to have a nose around my Maiden Bradley site, here. . . http://tinyurl.com/MaidenBradley
Also see - Warminster Our Community Item
And - Warmiinster People article
Plus - Frome People here
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